How to Spot a Fake W-2 Form
A fake W-2 inflates income for loans and leases. What to check in the boxes, the employer details and the numbers — and how to confirm with the source.
Lenders, landlords and agencies use the W-2 to confirm annual income. That makes it a target for editing and fabrication.
Check the numbers against each other
- Wages vs. Social Security and Medicare wages: these boxes are often similar but can differ because of pre-tax deductions. Large unexplained differences — or identical round numbers everywhere — are worth questioning.
- Withholding that makes sense: federal and state withholding should be plausible for the income and the state.
- Round figures: real annual wages rarely end in neat thousands.
Check the employer
- The employer identification number should be in the standard format and consistent with other documents from the same employer.
- The employer name and address should exist and match the application and pay stubs.
Check consistency with other documents
The W-2 total should align with the final pay stub's year-to-date figures and with deposits on bank statements.
Check the file
A W-2 produced by payroll software has consistent file properties. One created in a word processor, a design app or edited in a PDF editor leaves different traces.
Confirm with the source
Where appropriate, use the applicant's authorization to obtain tax transcripts or to verify employment directly with the employer through contact details you find independently.
A fast first pass
ThisVerify checks W-2s and pay stubs for edited figures, inconsistent fonts and editing software, and shows what to verify.